By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
Before the beginning of this year's Major League Baseball (MLB) season, South Korean baseball enthusiasts might have found it difficult to get excited about the U.S. leagues because none of their compatriots made opening rosters.
With two weeks remaining, however, Koreans do have something to cheer about, as Choo Shin-soo of the Cleveland Indians and Park Chan-ho of the Los Angeles Dodgers are standing out on their teams.
Choo continued his explosive swing, hitting a two-run home run in a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Twins Monday.
Along with the long ball, his 11th of the season, the 26-year-old South Korean outfielder added a single to post his seventh multi-hit game in his last 14 outings and 24th of the season.
With 84 hits this year, the player nicknamed "Choo-Choo Train" is three away from breaking Choi Hee-seop's record for most hits in an MLB season by a South Korean.
Choi, a former Major Leaguer now playing for the Kia Tigers in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), totaled 86 hits during stints with the Florida Marlins and the Dodgers in 2004.
In addition, Choo, a native of Busan, is five homers short of surpassing Choi's record of 15 home runs in a season by a Korean player, set in both 2004 and 2005.
Although Cleveland, ranked third in the American League (AL) Central division, has just 12 games remaining, the lefty-swinging Choo has a realistic chance at reaching Choi's home run record. He was, in fact, skilled enough to produce five dingers in the last 10 games of August.
As for RBIs, the locomotive emerging in the heart of the Indians' batting order has 51, four more than Choi, the first South Korean position player in MLB, ever achieved in a season.
Meanwhile, Park, a 14-year-veteran who usually works as a starter, has been successfully committed to pitching out of the bullpen this season. His efforts have made him a candidate for the Comeback Player of the Year Award.
The 35-year-old right-handed pitcher, who rose from being a free agent bust to a mainstay in the Dodgers' bullpen, has appeared in 48 games this year, compiling a 4-3 record with two saves and a 2.88 ERA to contribute to the Dodgers leading the National League (NL) West.
The former All-Star hurler also started five games when Hiroki Kuroda and Brad Penny were ruled out of the rotation due to injuries and went 1-0 with a 2.16 ERA during those outings.
Park, who became a full-time starter in 1997 and had not pitched out of the bullpen before this season, looked fatigued in late August when he was hit hard, but he bounced back by throwing five scoreless innings in as many appearances this month.